A proposal on 34th Street

By By L'Oreal ThompsonBaltimore Sun Media Group

Dec 20, 2012 | 9:47 AM

It's an especially wonderful time of the year for a young Baltimore couple. On Dec. 12 (or 12/12/12), Joshua Hager, 26, proposed to his girlfriend, Kate MacDonald, 27, in front of a Baltimore-themed house on 34th Street in

Hampden

, which is well-known for its colorful holiday display.

"We had planned on going to see the lights because we haven't been in a while," explains Kate. "And [Joshua's] mother convinced him to let his little brother go so he could take pictures. He specifically wanted to do it in front of the house with Natty Boh and the Utz Girl because everyone says we're 'so Baltimore.'"

Kate and Joshua met at a bar while attending

Frostburg State University

in Frostburg, Md., and began dating in October 2007. Kate graduated in December of that year and Joshua remained at Frostburg to complete his master's degree in business administration and work as an assistant football coach.

Last August, the couple purchased a house together in Baltimore, where they have plenty of Natty Boh memorabilia. The morning of the proposal, Joshua drove to Delaware to pick up the princess-cut solitaire diamond ring from the jeweler. He asked Kate's father for her hand in marriage that afternoon and proposed that evening.

"He grabbed my hand and his hand was shaking like a leaf. I said 'It's not that cold outside,'" she says. "And he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. He cried and I cried and there were strangers taking pictures."

The couple hasn't set a date yet, but they are thinking about an April 2014 wedding in Baltimore, of course.

"I think it'd be cool to see the whole city from the rooftop of the [

Maryland] Science Center

," says Kate. "And I'm not positive, but we'd like to have Berger Cookies for favors."

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